Of Cats and Men

By Kit

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"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" slurred a tall skinny boy as he slipped out from the shadows ahead of a little girl, who couldn't have been older than 10, on her way home from school.
"Come this way often, sweetie?" sneered another, larger boy, as he stepped out behind her.
"W- What do you want?" the little girl answered, trying not to sound as scared as she felt. They had waited until she rounded the corner that met into this back alley. The storage boxes and garbage cans dispersed throughout the alley cut off any hope of someone seeing her. She stiffened her stance as she prepared to sprint past the fat one, and back the way she came. Four others stepped into view, devastating her hope of getting past either one of them.
"Well, me and the boys here, ya see," Koji, one of the local high school bullies, began, "saw that you were walking down this alley with no one ta escort ya." She took an unconscious step backward. "So, we thought we'd help." She couldn't help but shiver at his predatorial grin.
"T-th-that's okay. I can make it by myself."
"Oh, I don't think you understand," Koji smirked. "I know for a fact, there is no way you could make it through here without our help."
She jumped when she felt the wall on her back. They moved up to form a semi-circle around her so that she would have no where to run.
"Look at her. She wants this so bad, she's trembling." The other five chuckled in response. It sounded so hollow she could feel it grating against every nerve in her body. Her eyes flickering, pleading with them to let her go. She opened her mouth, desperate to scream for help, but only a panicked dried whisper escaped.
Koji growled as he leaped forward, slapping a beefy hand around tightly over her mouth. "I wouldn't scream if I…" He was cut off by someone screaming to his left.
Out of no where a foot slammed into the shoulder of one of the boys. A gray blur bounced away. It balled up while landing on two bare palms against the rough alley floor. Before the shape could be made out, it was again in motion. Unfolding itself straight back into the same boy. He bounced off the opposite wall, shook his head, then launched himself at his attacker. A hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him further forward while his arm twisted painfully. A second hand descended with a crack. He passed out from the pain.
Standing above the broken unconscious boy the oni appeared to take the guise of a ten-year-old boy. He was dressed in a dirty thread-bare gi and heavily worn slippers. He looked up from his first victim revealing eyes so filled with darkness that they almost seemed to shine with black flame.
A moment passed before anyone reacted.
Koji squeezed the girl's jaw tightly as he grabbed her shoulder with his free hand. Twisting her around to his front, he yelled to the others "Get that little animal and teach him what it means to deal with the Alley Dogs."
"Let her go," the oni-boy demanded. One of the boys pulled a knife from his pocket, two others grabbed two handy pipes.
"Or what?" one of the Alley Dogs sneered as he unwrapped a length of chain. "You'll go easy on us?"
"You really shouldn't have done that." The tall skinny one growled while taking a few practice swings with his pipe.
"Maybe he wanted her for himself?" The fat one chuckled.
"Too bad, after what he did to Ken, there won't be enough of him left to let watch," the one with the chain answered.
"Too bad for you, kid," the fat one chided.
For the young girl, time stopped and allowed a soft wind blew through alley. A small chill went up her back. To her, the young boy's small pigtail seemed to wave in challenge.
"It's a martial artists duty to protect the weak," the words of his father came automatically to him. The young boy smirked as he made his plan. "And I'd ne'er dream of goin' easy on ya," he said with finality.
"Ha!" the first cried out. His chain swung out in a beautiful arch. The oni-boy vanished just before the chain could reach him.
The fat boy looked up. Two feet planted themselves heavily in his face. Leaning forward into a fall, the young martial artists kicked back against his head. The fat landing pad flew back against the opposite wall, blood shot out as the crack sounded up the alley. Combined with his momentum, a hard punch, straight into the other pipe wielder's gut folded him in half.
The blade cut through the air where the mysterious boy had just landed. Springing up at his elbow, the boy grabbed his wrist, immobilizing that arm, and pulled him down in an impromptu throw. The larger boy didn't have the momentum he needed, so he twisted and dropped into a roll with him. Mr. Knife screamed as his arm cracked under the force.
The boy returned to his feet, hands held out in a flourish with his head held high. Mr. Knife lay unconscious with his knife sticking out of his belly. He'd live.
Dropping to the ground, the chain arched over the oni-boy's head and wrapped itself around the skinny pipe wielder's neck. Unfolding his legs again in a powerful leap, the oni-boy launched several punches into the idiot with the chain. Stepping back, he leaped into a spinning kick to his temples and down Mr. Chain went down.
Back to skinny-pipe. The boy jumped up, flipping almost horizontal. A quick knee to the head, he rolled cat-like in mid-air and wrapped his legs around his head. Gravity then acted to pull them both against the ground. Mr. Skinny-pipe then mercifully found unconsciousness.
The oni-boy stood up. He gaze locked on the remaining two witnesses. Both of his hands clenched and unclenched twice. He took a step forward, planting his right foot into the hand of his last victim. Hearing no response, he took another step forward. His right hand rose to wipe at the corner of his mouth. It left a bloody smear that appeared more like some dark demonic markings than a spot of blood.
Koji may have been the biggest in his gang, but he wasn't the dumbest. He shoved the young girl forward and took off toward the opposite end of the alley. He had chosen the spot because it lessened the chance of someone getting away. Now he was the one running.
The boy saw Koji flinch just as he pushed the girl forward. He also saw the paralyzing fear in the girls eyes. He crossed that distance faster than his father had ever made him to move. Springing into the air, he caught her by her shoulders. Sailing over her, he used his momentum to pull her up right while spinning them both around. He landed just a few steps to the other side of her. Quickly spinning toward the last man he tensed to run after him. A soft voice called out to him.
"Stop! Please let him go." The boy stumbled to a stop before turning to face the girl with a puzzled look on his face.
"They wanted to hurt you," the boy said.
The girl shivered from the sight in front of her. She wasn't sure why she called out to him. He was clearly kami possessed and her mind was still shouting to run away fast as fast as she could. That he had just saved her couldn't quite calm the fear he had just inspired. More than anything the others had did or said, she knew she wouldn't live two seconds past whenever he wanted.
"Please, don't you think you hurt them enough?" She asked in a very uncertain voice. 'He might have killed five people just now, and you want to provoke him?!' the more rational part of her mind screamed.
"But, they were gonna hurt you," he answered as if that could justify any action. She wondered if, to him, that it would.
"Um, you're a lot better fighter than they were. Couldn't you have just… run them off or something?" She felt a little more confident, he hadn't attacked her yet. Some part of her wondered if he might be some kind of personal guardian kami, like in the stories her father read to her when she was younger. Only he didn't just chase the monsters away.
"Once ya commit, ya gotta go all the way. All or nothin'," the young boy replied in an almost lecturing tone. "If I'd let up, they'd just be back here tomorrow."
"Look at them!" Her voice quavering. The emotional toll almost breaking her down into tears.
"They deserved what I had to give'em."
"No body deserves that."
He shifted his weight back and forth, his lips silently moving as he tried to think of a response. "Look," he said finally while taking a step forward. Wide-eyed, she took an involuntary step back. He stopped, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I thought you needed help," he said after a moment.
She looked down. Everything was still too unreal. 'A nightmare, this had to be a nightmare, and any moment now, I'm going to wake up.' After a few seconds of not waking up, she looked up at the boy. He looked to be about her age. The expression of his face was closer to that of a lost puppy than the monster she had just seen.
"I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." He began, with the phrase his dad had drilled into him every since he could talk. "It's a martial artists duty to protect the weak," he said bowing to her. Then, looking her straight in the eye with the most vibrant blue eyes she had ever seen, he finished, "and I promise I ain't going to hurt ya."
She blinked. Whatever she might have expected next, that had not been it. After a moment of hesitation she smiled, "Pleased to meet you, my name is---"

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"Hiromi-chan!" Ranma breathlessly mouthed. He jumped up from his seat and sent his disk crashing into Hiroshi's. Everyone in the class stopped to look at him. He was looking toward Akane.
She blinked as she stared back at him. Thoughts of embarrassment vanished as she caught the wild look in his eyes.
"While I am glad you have deemed to wake up for my class," the teacher barked. "I will not tolerate any disruptions Saotome-kun. Sit down now, or go out to the hall!" He couldn't understand why the other teachers couldn't maintain order in this class. Of course he had only just taken over for Suzuki-sensei, who had taken an indefinite leave, just a few days prior.
"All right, young man," Hanaka-sensei, their teacher began, after it became apparent he was being ignored.
"No!" Ranma shouted suddenly, cutting off the teacher. With a single step he dove over Akane's desk, right through the closed window.
Everyone in the class was suddenly up and over to the windows before Hanaka could even think. Never had he had a student try to kill himself before. After the initial shock wore off, somewhat, he morbidly moved to join the students looking out the window.
Below, on the school grounds, Ranma looked around confused. He had just watched as a ten-year-old girl fell backwards out the window. He had jumped to try to save her, but now she was no where to be found. He might have considered it all a dream, if it hadn't been for the pain he felt when he broke the glass. He wiped the blood from the numerous small cuts along his brow.
'How could she have fallen through a closed window,' he thought. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog away. 'What would she be doing in a high school class room anyway,' Ranma found himself trying to reason. "Was I dreaming?"
"I have had enough, Saotome-kun," Hanaka yelled through the broken window. "Consider yourself on detention. And I think a parent-teacher conference would be in order too."
Ranma looked up at his classroom. Students were now looking out of most of the windows on this side. Dream or not, he didn't think he would quickly forget the look of terror on her face. It was like something out of a nightmare. His expression tightened as he thought of the girl's expression. 'She was kinda cute, for her age,' Ranma shook his head, 'What am I thinking.' He took a deep breath then a thought came to him, "She was afraid of me."
"Did you hear me, Saotome-kun?" The angry voice of his teacher settled down upon Ranma snapping him back to his surrounding.
Ranma looked around, this was not the time nor place for this. He turned and started running for the fence. With a single bound he was up and over the wall and gone.
"Okay class," Hanaka turned to face the rest of his class. "I want you to start reading pages 134 – 167 and do the questions at the end of the chapter." Hanaka turned and left the classroom, not even waiting for the students to get back to their seats. 'I need a smoke break,' Hanaka thought as he walked down the hall. He had quit just 2 years earlier.

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'Why do I have ta go to school,' young Ranma reasoned with himself. 'It's not like they ever teach anythin' fun or useful. Nothin' like what dad teaches.' Wearing the school uniform from his last school made him stand out from the others making their way into the schoolyard. His father had told him that it was normal and accepted for a transfer student to wear the uniform of his last school for the first few days, so that other students could see where he was from. A theory that didn't match the reality of how most of the other kids treated him whenever he transferred in. Ranma thought it was just an excuse until the old man could find a proper uniform for him.
"Ranma?" a voice ahead of him called out.
Ranma looked up, he eyes searching for the source of the voice. Someone who knew him already? Finally, as he forced his way forward, he saw her. "Hiromi? What are you doing here?"
"Duh, I go to school here. Are you transferring here?" she asked.
"Uh," Ranma responded intelligently. "Ya, I guess, for now at least." Ranma stood there like a deer caught in headlights. Normally it took him days before he could find any good friends, now here was someone talking to him on the first day.
"So, you going to tell me your homeroom, or are you going to keep it a secret."
"Uh –oh, its uh, its," Ranma reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Um, 3-E" he finally answered looking up to see her eyes light up and a huge smile on her face. He wanted to remember this moment forever.
"I know where that is!" She giggled out. "Follow me." She turned and forged a path through the other students toward their classroom.

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Kasumi positively glowed as she leaned back, allowing the warm waters of the furo to work their magic. Taking a deep relaxing breath, she wondered at how much she had really needed this. While she usually didn't allow herself such luxuries as a mid-afternoon soak, she had found herself thinking about this all day.
Most of the wash was hanging, or could wait till later. Both Father and Mr. Saotome were fed. The cleaning was done. And her favorite TV soaps had become so boring, for some reason, lately. Luck, this day, seemed to smile upon her.
She looked over at her free sample of bathing oil. That nice young man had insisted she at least take home a sample. She had tried to politely turn down his sales pitch, but had been so passionate about it. So when he offered her a free sample, how could she turn that down?
She had forgotten to try it last night. And when she came in to clean the furo, after everyone had gone off to school, she noticed someone had already added it to the warm water. While the bottle was larger than she would have thought for a free sample, she definitely didn't want to miss out because she waited too long.
She let out a deep soul-cleansing sigh. Maybe she would go borrow another book from Dr. Tofu when she was done. "Ahh," she sighed. "All is right with the world."

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"Thanks for walking me home," Hiromi said.
"No problem." Ranma replied, beaming with joy. "I guess those bullies learned their lesson, huh?" She looked at him and frowned. Suddenly he felt like he had just been caught doing something wrong by his dad.
"Maybe, then again, they might have learned if you had gone easier on them too." Now it was Ranma's turn to frown.
"People like that don't learn. You have to show them…." He stopped when she turned her back to him.
"Anyone can change, if given the chance. And everyone deserves the chance. If any of them had died, you would have taken any hope they had of changing."
He looked down at the ground while absently rubbing a recent bruise hidden under his long sleeves. Somehow this seemed worse than any lecture his dad had given him. He still wasn't sure why he enjoyed being around her, especially when she smiled. And he hated it when she seemed upset. He became determined to make her happy while he was here. "I'll think about what ya said. See ya tomorrow," he said as the turned to head back to the vacant house his father had found.
"Wait," she called. Suddenly not really wanting to see him go yet.
"What?" he said while turning around.
Whatever gave her the strength to call out left her. "I- uh, do you have, I mean, would you like to see my cat?"
"Sure! I love cats." Ranma beamed. 'Pop should be out until late tonight.'
"Great, we have two cats. The big one name is…."
She led him into the apartment building, telling him all about their cats.

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"Hey, wait up." Nabiki shouted to her young sister as they left the school at the end of the day. Akane turned and looked very annoyed, but she waited. Nabiki smirked. That meant she wasn't really angry or she would have just kept on, oblivious to her calls. 'You are so easy to read, Akane.'
"What do you want?" snapped Akane.
"Just to have a nice walk home with my sister, like we use to do," Nabiki chimed.
"We never walk home together and I'm not in the mood." Akane replied, not really turning down Nabiki's offer.
"Want to talk about it?" Nabiki probed. She had heard several versions already. Everything from Ranma attacking Akane and she throwing him out the window to Ranma tying to kill himself. In short, nothing believable. The only thing she was sure of was that Ranma had jumped through a window then ran off.
"No," she said after a few seconds.
Nabiki hid her smirk; 'about two more blocks should do it.'
"Why, Nabiki?" Akane stopped two blocks later and turned to face her sister. "Why would he just take off like that."
Nabiki blinked. "We could ask him when we get back."
Akane humpf'd. "Probably went to go see that violent Chinese bimbo of his." Akane's expression darkened considerably.
'Akane calling someone else violent,' Nabiki quipped to herself. "If that's true, you could maybe get father to forget about the engagement." Nabiki watched Akane's expression soften as she cast her eyes down at the ground.
"You think so?" She said meekly.
"He wasn't very happy when she first showed up, as I remember." Akane only nodded slightly. 'Time to up the ante,' Nabiki thought. "I am sure I could get a picture or two that would that would make daddy's blood boil."
"So, you think he likes her more?" Akane said in a slightly higher pitch than normal.
"Who cares. With the way she acts, I could probably get a whole roll of shots in no time. If I presented them to him just right, he would kick the both of them out without hesitation," Nabiki turned away slightly, to pretending to be look away.
"Y- you don't have to do that," Akane said very softly while staring intensely at the ground.
"Oh," Nabiki said turning back around smiling. "I thought you said you didn't want to be engaged to him."
"Why would I want to be engaged to a stupid perverted jerk like him!" Akane snapped, unable to stop the burning feeling in her face as Nabiki cornered her. After a moments pause, she continued. "It's just… you don't… wouldn't that destroy their family name?"
"It's just an offer." Nabiki had a few thoughts herself on the Saotomes' good family name. "Just let me know if you change your mind." Nabiki turned and continued on as if nothing had happened, a little to Akane's relief. This conversation had been very illuminating, even if she didn't learn what she really wanted to know. 'Ranma, you had better be worth my little sister's attention.'

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AN: Greetings...
This story is set somewhere shortly before Happosai's arrival. Although, I may alude to later plot themes.
It should go without saying, that I own none of the characters in this story with the possible exception of Hiromi, Yuota, and Koji. And should bear no resemblance to any real person alive or otherwise. (If so, you may need help.) As such, please please don't sue me. I have no intention of earning money from this story. This is only my way of paying homage to a great story filled with fun and wounderful charcters.
Thank you Rumiko Takahashi-san.

This story is revealed in both the present time and in flash backs for the reader. Italics are used to set off the flash backs from present day actions. I hope this helps in the reading as some have complained about that. Also the ending has been altered. I hope everyone likes this one better. :)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy!